


Escape

by LibraryMage



Series: Runaways [1]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Psychiatric Ward, Brother-Sister Relationships, Child Abuse, Found Family, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Psychiatric Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-05 20:20:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20279224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibraryMage/pseuds/LibraryMage
Summary: Sabine was admitted to the Easthills Behavioral Health Hospital three months ago, sent there by parents whose expectations she could never live up to.  Ezra has been there nearly a year, sent there by a system that gave up on trying to find him a real home.  Knowing they won't survive this place much longer, they hatch a plan: get out, get away, start over.  Together.OR, the one where Sabine and Ezra escape a psych ward.





	Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for: group therapy; verbal abuse; threat of seclusion

“Sabine?”

Even though it wasn’t directed at him, Ezra had to fight off the instinct to flinch at the harsh tone in Pryce’s voice. He didn’t want to draw any attention to himself. Pryce would get to him soon enough, if she got to him at all and didn’t spend the whole time on Sabine.

A hard knot of guilt twisted in Ezra’s stomach at the thought. It wasn’t like he _wanted_ Pryce to spend the whole session focused on Sabine. She didn’t deserve that.

“I have nothing to say,” Sabine said through gritted teeth, her jaw set as she glared down at the floor, refusing to look at Pryce.

Ezra’s heart skipped a beat as he saw that cold, withering look Pryce was giving Sabine. As her pale blue eyes narrowed, the temperature in the room seemed to drop. Ezra shrank back into his chair, swallowing nervously as he, too, averted his gaze, his chin dropping down toward his chest as he fought not to start shaking.

_Don’t make it worse_, he thought. _Please, Sabine, just don’t make it worse._

He hated himself for even thinking it. He knew the last thing Sabine wanted to do was roll over and give in. It was the last thing he wanted to do, either, but some days it was just so hard to keep resisting. And most days, it was just too dangerous.

“Sabine,” Pryce snapped. “We are _not_ going to do this again. You _are_ going to participate. You know what will happen if you don’t.”

Sabine just kept her gaze on the floor, her arms crossed and her jaw clenched.

“What do you think this is going to accomplish?” Pryce asked. Ezra caught himself just before he shuddered. He knew that tone in Pryce’s voice; the one she used when she was just beginning to dig into the person who’d become her target for the rest of the session. Ezra had been on the receiving end of it himself more times than he could count.

“Do you think your parents will want us to send you home if you keep this up?” Pryce asked.

Ezra looked up, glad that Pryce hadn’t noticed him looking at the floor. A sharp sting of guilt shot through him at the thought. The only reason she hadn’t noticed was because she was focused on Sabine. Sabine’s hands were curling into fists, shaking slightly as she continued glaring down at the scuffed gray and white floor. Ezra’s eyes stayed locked onto her, his heart pounding as a dozen different scenarios of how this could escalate and get worse flashed through his mind.

“They won't,” Pryce said, the harsh snap in her voice making Ezra nearly flinch again. Her gaze moved quickly across the circle, settling on the boy sitting two spots away from Ezra.

“What do you think, Traest?” she asked, one eyebrow rising just slightly. “Would Sabine’s parents want her to come right now?”

“No,” Traest said. Ezra bristled and was suddenly very glad there was another kid sitting between them.

“Areta?” Pryce said, her eyes snapping to another girl sitting near Sabine. “If you were Sabine’s mother, would you want her back?”

The other girl made a quiet noise that almost sounded like a laugh.

“No,” she said. “I wouldn’t.”

“And why not?” Pryce asked.

“She doesn’t want to get better,” Areta said, her voice dripping with disdain she didn’t even try to hide. “She’s just acting this way for attention. If I was her mom, I wouldn’t give into that. I’d send her right back here until she fixed her attitude.”

Sabine rolled her eyes, and Ezra’s heart skipped a beat as he saw Pryce’s gaze turn back to her just in time to see it.

“Really?” Pryce snapped. Sabine’s shoulders stiffened as she realized she’d been caught. “Your friends are only trying to help you and all you can do is roll your eyes at them.”

Sabine’s jaw tensed and Ezra knew she was fighting not to talk back. She wasn’t going to cooperate with Pryce, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew that getting any more visibly upset than she already was would just get her in more trouble.

“Brenna,” Pryce said, addressing the girl who sat beside Areta. “Do you have anything you want to say to Sabine right now?”

“Yeah,” Brenna said, crossing her arms. “You think you’re so special and you don’t have to do the same work as the rest of us. But you’re here for the same reasons we are.”

“Alen?” Pryce prompted.

“I don’t think she thinks she’s special,” the boy next to Brenna said. “I think she’s just lazy.”

“Jai?” Pryce asked, turning her attention to the boy who was the most recent admission to the ward.

Jai only shrugged, shifting nervously in his chair as he glanced around the circle at the people waiting for his response. Ezra almost felt sorry for him. Jai was his roommate, and he’d told Ezra it was his first time in a place like this. He didn’t know how things worked yet.

“Think about the example you’re setting for the newer patients,” Pryce said as she turned her eyes back to Sabine. “You’re not just hurting yourself; you’re hurting everyone else around you. You’re letting them see this and think they can get away with it, too. And then what do you think will happen? They won’t get better. You’re just impeding their progress in addition to your own.”

She paused for a moment. Ezra could see Sabine’s clenched hands shaking with anger as the room filled with a deadly silence that hung over all of them like a knife dangling from a string.

“You’re being selfish, Sabine,” Pryce said. “You’re not thinking about how your actions affect anyone else. And isn’t that why you’re here in the first place? Because your parents were so tired of –”

“Leave her alone.”

The words were out of Ezra’s mouth before he even realized he was saying them.

“Excuse me?” Pryce asked, her hard, furious gaze turning to Ezra now.

“Leave her alone,” Ezra said again, his voice suddenly weak.

He shrank down in his seat, suddenly feeling a dozen sets of eyes on him. His heart was hammering, his throat going dry. He shouldn’t have said anything. He’d been worrying about Sabine making things worse for herself and now he’d just made it worse for both of them.

“She shouldn’t have to talk if she doesn’t want to,” he said, his voice shaking as he forced the words out past a lump in his throat.

“And why not?” Pryce asked. “That’s why she’s here, isn’t she?”

Ezra knew the smart thing to do was to back down. He knew he was only going to get himself in trouble, but he forced himself to keep talking. If he could keep the heat off of Sabine for just a few minutes, drawing Pryce’s wrath might be worth it.

“I—it’s not like she chose to be here,” Ezra said, fighting against the instinct to drop his gaze to the floor.

“You’re right,” Pryce said. “She didn’t choose to be here. Her parents put her here because they couldn’t manage her anymore. Just like no one wanted to manage you.”

Ezra’s left hand closed around the edge of his chair, gripping it so tightly that his knuckles went pale.

“There’s a reason no foster home wanted to take you,” Pryce said. “Maybe if you would put some effort into your treatment, that would change.”

Ezra opened his mouth, not knowing what he was going to say, but not able to stay silent. Before he could say a word, Pryce cut him off.

“One more outburst from you, and you’ll be spending the next week in seclusion,” she said. “Control yourself, or face consequences. It’s your choice.”

Ezra fell silent, sinking lower in his chair as he hugged his arms around himself, dropping his gaze to the floor.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“Don’t apologize to me,” Pryce said. “Apologize to _them_. I get paid to be here, no matter what happens in this room. _They’re_ the ones whose time you’re wasting.”

“Sorry,” Ezra said again, swallowing down the shame that burned like bile in his throat.

“Good enough,” Pryce said. “This time.”

Ezra kept staring down at the floor, the buzzing in his head drowning out the sound of Pryce’s voice as she moved on to her next target. He was glad he couldn’t hear her. He never wanted to hear her fucking voice again.

* * *

_Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen._

Ezra counted the seconds in his head as he looked out through the barred window. Once he reached twenty, he looked away. Looking out the window for too long had gotten him in trouble before, accused of paranoia or thinking about escaping. After what he’d been through in group therapy earlier, he didn’t want to risk drawing attention to himself again.

As he stared down at the floor, fiddling with the hem of his shirt, he heard a soft sound approaching. Non-slip socks on a linoleum floor wasn’t a very noticeable sound for most people, but after spending enough time here, Ezra had learned how to recognize it.

“Hey,” Sabine said, dropping into the chair bolted down beside his. “You okay?”

Ezra shrugged.

“I’ve heard worse,” he said.

“Yeah,” Sabine said, the word coming out in a small sigh. “I know.”

Ezra nodded. In the few months Sabine had been here, she’d seen plenty of Pryce’s lectures, and not just the ones Ezra had been the target of. She knew just how cruel Pryce could be when she felt like it.

As Ezra drew in a long, shuddering breath, he felt tears stinging at his eyes. He quickly wiped them away, hoping no one had seen them.

“Sabine…” his voice trailed off. He didn’t know what else to say. _I can't do this anymore. I can't wait anymore. We need to leave_.

“Tonight,” she whispered.

Ezra forced himself not to react, staying as still and silent as he could. He could barely believe she’d said it. Finally, it was all coming together. They were going to escape.

“You need to be alone,” Sabine said.

Ezra’s hands twitched. He wanted to say that Jai wouldn’t wake up, and wouldn’t tell anyone if he did, that she could just let him out of his room and it would be okay. But they couldn’t risk that. If they were caught, they wouldn’t get another chance at this. If he wanted to escape, he’d have to get himself locked in seclusion.

He nodded. Part of him wanted to ask her exactly what her part of the plan was, but the more sensible part of him didn’t want to know. Sabine was his friend and he hated himself for even thinking it, but if she got caught before she could get to him, then it was better if he didn’t know anything.

“Won't be long now,” Sabine said quietly. She glanced over her shoulder quickly before reaching out and taking his hand, squeezing it tightly for a few seconds before releasing him.

As Sabine got up and walked away, Ezra closed his eyes for a second. He just had to hang on a little bit longer. In less than twenty-four hours, they would both be out of here. They’d be free.

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is...not great quality, tbh, because I couldn't dig too deeply into it without triggering myself too much to keep writing it, but it'll get better, especially once we reach the found family content.


End file.
